U.S. Lawmakers Weigh Ending Aid Until Mubarak Out

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Senior members of the U.S. Congress
are debating whether to halt foreign aid to Egypt as a way to
hasten President Hosni Mubarak’s exit from power amid continuing
protests against his three-decade rule.

Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the panel that
controls foreign aid, said he’s prepared to stop all U.S.
financial assistance to Egypt -- which topped $1.5 billion last
year -- unless Mubarak steps aside immediately and allows a
transitional government to take over.

“If he doesn’t leave, there will not be foreign aid; I
mean, it’s as simple as that,” Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, told
Bloomberg Television in an interview yesterday. U.S. money
“will not go to the Mubarak administration,” Leahy said,
adding, “that’s a pipeline that can easily be turned off.”

That approach is at odds with the one taken by the
Republicans who head the House committee that controls foreign
aid spending. Representative Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican,
said it is “premature” to make any decisions on aid to Egypt.

“We’ve got a very solid relationship with Egypt, and the
aid that we’ve rendered over the years has been one of the
things that has given us some leverage and some stability,”
Cole, the vice chairman of the foreign assistance spending
subcommittee, said in an interview. “I don’t think it’s the
time to be making threats or to be suspending what I think has
been a very productive, 30-year relationship.”

‘Caution’ Urged

In a statement earlier this week, Representative Kay
Granger of Texas, the panel’s chairwoman, responded to calls for
halting aid by urging “caution.” She said the U.S. should be
“deliberate about the actions we take.”

Stopping aid to Egypt wouldn’t be simple. Majorities in the
Senate and House would have to vote to do so -- no certainty,
given the divide emerging among lawmakers -- and some of the
money has already been spent, as Leahy acknowledged. Congress
could at most pull back unspent or unobligated money, funds that
are in the “pipeline” to which Leahy referred.

Mubarak’s announcement earlier this week that he wouldn’t
run in elections scheduled for September failed to quell
protests against his government, and stoked the anger of
demonstrators who have since stepped up their demands for his
quick departure.

Mubarak’s Ouster

Even before Mubarak’s announcement, Representative Gary L.
Ackerman of New York, the top Democrat on the House panel that
oversees Middle East policy, had urged suspension of U.S. aid
until the embattled leader stepped down. Ackerman was the first
U.S. lawmaker to call publicly for Mubarak’s ouster.

Democratic Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas also is
pushing to use the only degree of control lawmakers have on
foreign policy matters -- the power of the purse -- to prod
Mubarak off stage.

Doggett, a nine-term House member who previously sought to
limit aid to Egypt, wrote to President Barack Obama yesterday
asking him to make it clear to Mubarak and his government that
“Egypt will not receive one more cent of American money until
he begins the peaceful, orderly transition to a democratically
elected government today.”

The U.S. “must send the unmistakable message to Mubarak
and all dictators who are watching our response that we will not
continue to waste money propping up his tyranny,” Doggett
wrote.

Cutting Military Aid

Democratic Representative Jim Moran of Virginia also
suggested the U.S. should consider using money as a lever to
influence the Egyptian leader.

“If Mubarak doesn’t end the hostilities against unarmed
protesters, we should cut all military aid until he leaves
power,” Moran, a member of the House panel that controls
military spending, said in an e-mailed statement.

The current dispute over whether to limit aid to Egypt
echoes past debates in Congress that cut across party lines. At
various points over the last decade, Republicans and Democrats
have sought to slash funding for Egypt as a way of signaling
displeasure with Mubarak’s regime.

Ackerman, Doggett and Moran all backed an unsuccessful move
five years ago to cut $100 million in Egypt aid. The House
turned back the attempt, 225-198.

Leahy said his preference now would be to redirect U.S. aid
to a new group of leaders in Egypt.

“What I’d like to be able to say is, ‘We’re in a position
to help the transitional government that has democratic values,
believes in democracy, but also believes in helping its own
people,’” Leahy said.